19 Minutes to a Clean House
#125192 - 11/24/04 09:49 AM
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Shell Marr
Reged: 08/04/03
Posts: 14959
Loc: Seattle, WA USA
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19 Minutes to a Clean House from Real Simple
The holidays mean unexpected guests, dropping in to spread cheer -- but causing you anxiety over a not-quite-clean house. Don't worry. We've got speed cleaning down to a science. Simply incorporate our 19-minute method into your routine and you'll have a tidy house all day, every day.
KITCHEN: 4½ MINUTES • Wipe down the sink after doing the dishes or loading the dishwasher (30 seconds). • Wipe down the stove top (one minute). • Wipe down the counters (one minute). • Sweep, Swiffer or vacuum the floor (two minutes). Tip: Always start with the sink. "Keep it empty and shining," says Marla Cilley, author of Sink Reflections. A sparkling sink becomes your kitchen's benchmark for hygiene and tidiness, inspiring you to load the dishwasher immediately and keep counters, refrigerator doors and the stove top spick-and-span, too.
BATHROOM: 2 MINUTES • Wipe out the sink (30 seconds). • Wipe the toilet seat and rim (15 seconds). • Swoosh the toilet bowl with a brush (15 seconds). • Wipe the mirror and faucet (15 seconds). • Squeegee the shower door (30 seconds). • Spray the entire shower and the curtain liner with shower mist after every use (15 seconds). Tip: Make cleaning the basin as routine as washing your hands. But don't stop there. Get the most out of your premoistened wipe by using it to clean around the edges of the tub and then the toilet before tossing it.
BEDROOM: 6½ MINUTES • Make the bed (two minutes). • Fold or hang clothing and put away jewelry (four minutes). • Straighten out the night-table surface (30 seconds). Tip: Make your bed right before or after your morning shower. A neat bed will inspire you to deal with other messes immediately. Although smoothing sheets and plumping pillows might not seem like a high priority as you're rushing to work, the payoff comes at the end of the day, when you slip back under the unruffled covers.
LIVING ROOM: 6 MINUTES • Pick up crumbs and dust bunnies with a handheld vacuum (one minute). • Fluff the cushions and fold throws after use (two minutes). • Wipe tabletops and spot-clean cabinets when you see fingerprints (one minute). • Straighten coffee-table books and magazines. Throw out newspapers. Put away CDs and videos (two minutes). Tip: Start with the sofa -- as long as it's in disarray, your living room will never look tidy. Once you've fluffed the pillows and folded the throws, you're halfway done. Pop in a CD while you dust; you should be able cover the whole room by the end of the third track.
-------------------- www.facebook.com/shell.marr
www.myspace.com/shellmarr
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Okay, anyone who can squeegee their shower door in 30 seconds and pick up crumbs with a handheld vacuum in 1 minute has my never-ending respect! LOL
Did you do all this in 19 minutes, Shell?
Maybe it's possible if you're on drugs like the author of that article!
-------------------- - Jennifer
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Quote:
Okay, anyone who can squeegee their shower door in 30 seconds and pick up crumbs with a handheld vacuum in 1 minute has my never-ending respect! LOL
Did you do all this in 19 minutes, Shell? Heck NO... more like 19 hours!! LOL No, once the place is CLEAN...it can stay that way for a few weeks.... then we have to start all over again. We are TRYING to be better about it. One good way is to ALWAYS be expecting company....we have people coming over several times between now and the Jan...that it will help.
Maybe it's possible if you're on drugs like the author of that article! LMAO!!
-------------------- www.facebook.com/shell.marr
www.myspace.com/shellmarr
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Quote:
Did you do all this in 19 minutes, Shell? Heck NO... more like 19 hours!! LOL No, once the place is CLEAN...it can stay that way for a few weeks.... then we have to start all over again. We are TRYING to be better about it. One good way is to ALWAYS be expecting company....we have people coming over several times between now and the Jan...that it will help. Jeesh! Within 2 days of cleaning, my house will look like a pigsty. DH has a few really bad habits, and I get tired of picking up after him all the time. So when I clean, I really have to clean and I end up having to sike myself up prior!
-------------------- ~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
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Shell!
Marla, the women that wrote Sink Reflections, has a website called Flylady.com. It ROCKS! I am hopeful one day I'll have the strength to follow her daily routine once again (did it last year in NY on my good days...it was AWESOME!)
Thanks Shell! You brought smiles to my face!
Love,
Ruchie
-------------------- Formerly known as Ruchie
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Darn, I spend HOURS cleaning my tiny studio, one day of throwing dishes in the sink cause I got done school late at night and BAM! Everything goes to heck and I have to start all over.
-------------------- -Sheri
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LOL If you have clutter the system doesn't work.
If you have to take stuff off the stove (like last night's pots), it won't be so quick to wipe it down. But if you clear everything before bed and wipe it down every day....30 secs should be enough
Just a thought....
-------------------- Formerly known as Ruchie
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Man, I wish this were the case... even if I could do those things in that amount of time, it doesn't account for the epic tumbleweeds of animal fur. Chasing those suckers down is quite time consuming.
Also, during the school year Eric and I are both so busy we're big slobs. When I'm consistantly working fifteen hour days I just can't be bothered cleaning things up.
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Is anyone on here a naturally tidy person?
If so you FASCINATE me! (I am a naturally clean but untidy person)
I have a friend who keeps all her lotions and potions bottles in their original cardboard boxes, perfectly lined up. Mine are thrown in a basket and sometimes I forget to put the lid back on. Which of us sounds like you?
Do you ALWAYS hang your clothes the moment you take them off and NEVER put them on the back of a chair?
I am anal about hoovering the mat in the sitting room and cleaning the worksurfaces but am really untidy in my bedroom and tend to leave a trail of shoes and bags behind me.
I'd be really interested to find out which you are!
-------------------- S.
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I am the queen of clutter....ESPECIALLY since I'm so achey these days and no energy to move more less clean up!
I would say I'm avergae when I feel good.
I HATE clutter but I sem to make so much of it!
I love organizin things.
I'm half and half LOL
GREAT post Sinead! *hugs*
Ruchie
-------------------- Formerly known as Ruchie
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I am clean but cluttered!!! I don't have dirt around my house but you can almost always find a stack of mail and a pile of clothes laying around!!!
Not tomention NOBODY hangs up their coats in my house they all get thrown on the livivng room couch!!! We are always in the family room!!!
SO I am Cluttered Clean!!! I am anal about my Kitchen counters!! Can't stand for there to be things that don't belong on them!!!!!
-------------------- Heather7476
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Yeah i'm with you, not that i have too many lotions and potions, but the minute i tidy my room it's messy again......generally without being a pig, life is an untidy affair by nature and i don't understand those whose entire lives become a slave to tidiness, takes up so much valuable time !!!!!
ralph
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HA HAH!!! Whoever wrote that doesn't have kids a husband or any pets!!! It was good for a laugh tho!!!!! HAHAHAHA Clean a house in 19min!!
-------------------- Heather7476
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My dad is a NEAT FREAK!!!! When he vacumes the lines form the vacume cleaner all have to be even!!! I am not kidding!! He will spend hours cleaning!!! He goes a little crazy when all the grandkids show up!!! You have to BE so CAREFULL over there if you spill something even on the tablecloth he goes nuts!! He has a room "The Living Romm" your not even allowed in!!! White carpet, White couches and VERY expensive nick knacks!!! It sucked when I was a kid!!! He was impossable to keep hapy where the house was concerned!!! Once my parents divored!!! We lived like pigs for a few weeks!! It was great!! Then we became normall and kept a tidy house!!!
Wonder why I am stressed about tommrow!!!!!!!
-------------------- Heather7476
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We're fairly messy. There's a definite level of mess that begins to upset me, so I don't think my house is repulsive or anything, but when I get really busy things tend to slide. Also, I can't be too picky because the animals are kind of slobs. There's pretty much hair on everything all of the time. And right now there are books and papers EVERYWHERE in the office because I have five days to finish everything for school. Alas.
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My apartment is ALWAYS clean! My friends laugh when I say that I'm spending my Saturday morning cleaning my apartment because they claim there's nothing to clean! I have gotten a little bit more lax since I moved out by myself, but even so, I make sure that everything is in its place before I go to bed at night or before I leave. It's really sad.
-------------------- - Jennifer
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You want to come live with me!!LOL!!! I could use someone like you around here!!! I have given up!!! Men,children,cat = messy house ten minutes after I clean!!!
-------------------- Heather7476
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Oh dear...
#125307 - 11/24/04 04:17 PM
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RachelT
Reged: 07/01/04
Posts: 2350
Loc: Minnesota
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I'm a clean freak, but hate cleaning. If that makes any sense?! I dislike clutter, but have no choice but to ignore it lately. My kitchen is always cleaned up by the end of the night, but my living room looks like a pigsty. And yes, I tend to leave a trail of shoes too. Especially at the front door.
-------------------- ~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
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What I wouldn't give for the days I kept our house clean!!!
Being in pain has put a damper on our home. I actually asked hubby for a housekeeper for my b-day...hope I get it!
Our house is dirty (dog and hubby's bikes) AND cluttered! hubby works long hours and I rest long hours....so house=yucky mess! *sigh* The first thing I will do when I get my energy back and some major ain relief is CLEAN! I actually MISS doing the dishes! LOL
Ok, stepping down now.......
Ruchie
-------------------- Formerly known as Ruchie
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Actually, I like to clean It's busy work for me, something I do when I'm stressed ... plus I must have things organized and I'm germ-o-phobic! Unfortunately, b/f and birds don't share those sentiments, so the cleanliness doesn't last for very long! Oh well ...
-------------------- ~*Amber*~
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How to Clean
by nelly
Come home, lock door.
Trip over dog toy.
Curse.
Look at boyfriend. Look at dog.
Sigh heavily. Go into bedroom.
Emerge from room in dirty jeans and college sweatshirt.
Go to kitchen. Hide dishes in dishwasher. Set stove on fire to remove grease. Avoid screaming boyfriend. Extinguish fire. Throw smoke detectors in closet, and remove batteries for remote control use later.
Douse kitchen in soapy water. Wipe down surfaces with dirty towel in hamper. Put towel back in hamper.
Find vacuum. Drag vacuum around room behind you, running in circles. Vacuum sock by accident. Unplug smoking vacuum. Hide vacuum in closet.
Notice dirty dog looking at you.
Take dog apart. Disinfect. Reassemble dog.
Find bf cowering in corner of his room. Notify bf that living room is off-limits.
Survey living room. Move living room trash into kitchen. Stuff trash into available grocery bags. Pile bags outside front door. Lock door.
Take random dirty socks out of hamper. Put them on hands. Wipe all available surfaces. Throw socks in washing machine. Forget.
Find BF. Order him into shower. Give him towel out of hamper.
Find remote control. Put batteries from fire detector into remote. Scowl at remote. Dismiss remote when you figure out that it's not programmed anymore. Scowl at TV. Get out of comfy bed and turn on TV manually. Get back in bed. Fall asleep.
~nelly~
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LoL! That's pretty good Nelly!
-------------------- ~*Amber*~
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LOL Nelly mine is quite similar! I'll post it later if I get a chance.
Thanks for making me laugh!
-------------------- S.
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I am pretty clean too.. my friends come over and think the place is immaculate.. but I usually think its dirty, so I must be cleaner than most. Since grad school and getting my very own place i've become more lax about leaving dirty dishes in the sink or throwing some clothes on a chair.. but they never last more than a night. I think because my apts relatively small I need to keep it tidy or else it looks way worse than it really is.
--------------------
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Happy to oblige!!! And it's allll truuuue.
~nelly~
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